The Portland daily press., 1887-06-11
STRAIGHT AND cRooKEoLecs.
What Makes Men Bandy-Legged and
Knock Cure.
New York Evening SUM-

New York Evening Sun.
Comparatively few men have really
straight legs. In walk from Fourteenth
street to she Battery reporter made rough
estimate and found that not more than one
in three of the men who passed him were
straight limbed Most of them were bow or
handy legged, some of them were knock
kneed, and in few instances both legs bent
the same way. 1t was noticed that as rule
the stout. heavy men had paranthesis legs,
while those of slighter build. in many cases,
carried their bodies on figure resembling
an X.
This rule. however, does not always hold.
Many men of no inconsiderable avoirdupois
strike their knees together when they walk
1t is not uncommon to see a long, lanky man
whose legs are SO bent that he is physically
incapacitated from stopping the traditional
pig in an alley-way. frequently bow-leg-
gedness is associated with strength 1t is
usually seen in short, sturdy men. Those
who are knock-kneed have no such recon-
pense unless the excuse for renewing trous-
ers, which are constantly being worn out at
the knees by chatting one against the other,
be considered as such.
A well-lSnown surgeon who has had long
experience in city hospital was asked to
explain the prevalency Of crooked legs. He
said at Is fact that very few persons
have straight legs My attention is often
called to il. 1t is hard to say just why it is.
Many say that it is because children are
made to walk when they are too young.
Mothers like to have their little ones on their
feet at as early an age as possible, and so
sometimes force them to stand before their
'-Hsg{S are able to bear the weight Of their
withonN Nurses, too, when they take children
edly This isairing often make them walk
formitv Pro5ssents' knowledge. Undoubt-
curved legs to car tl me cause OF the de-
Of carrying him when he ,s o got trn ls
others say, with good reason also. thai pu.
due to baby-carriages. The child is wbeeia;,
about until it is quite old Its body il th,.
developed while its legs are doing nothinc
and and when finally as;ly + is made to use them
Of the body. l believe that the Treatment 81
children is responsible for more bow-Iegeed.
ness or enem0Scot0sSs, as we call Lit, than anv
thing else.
Every one knows that the bones of the
human eoay are made up of cartilaginous OF
slnewy hbre and mineral matter, and thai
when young the former predominates. The
bones at the stage have, therefore. little
rightly ana are very easily bent. Unfortu-
nateiy, they have little elasticity, either
cartilage and mineral matter varies in differ.
ent children, so that is impossible to give
any fixed age at which they Should be made
to walk. Many can walk well when u months
old, while others can not do so until they are
2 years old.
in some children there is an unusual pro-
portion Of sinew in the bone, and in these
cases the legs are almost certain to become
crooked, In these Instances braces can he
used with advantage until the bones harden
| This simple remedy Is seldom used however
sometimes from the apathy of the parents.
| but chiefly because the tendency is NOT no,
ticed until 1t is too late. The legs bend one
way or the other very, gradually, and when
the curve is perceptible is usually past the
cure of braces, This condition OF the bones
is often due to insufficient food and general
neglect Unless the blood is kept rich and
healthy, the bones are apt to be retarded in
development, and so, remaining, soft, are
! readily twisted.
Sometimes bow-legged children become
straight when they grow older. My mother
| told me that when / was q child NV legs
formed an almost perfect elipse. Now, I
venture to assert, they are straighter than
seen this occur, but it is impossible to fore
tell II the curve in a child's legs will
stralghten out In after years ornot''
| is there any means Of Strengthening legs
when once they are set crooked?" asked the
"Yes, and by very simple process. The
| curvature in bow-legged persons is usually
| just below the knee. To remove it we take a
| piece out of the outside Of the bone-that is
| the convex side-and then break the bone on
| the other side. This enables us to make the
| leg properly straight by using stiff splints
and it isn't long before the legs are ali right
again and as straight as can be desired. In
knock-kneed persons the curative is aboye
the knee, and the same process can be used,
1t is not so often, done, however. as few
people care to have the thigh bone broken
merely to Increase their personal beauty
.Then you often cure bow-legged men In
this way?"
"Oh, yes. OF course when the curve is co
MAI ked that it actually interferes with the
walking some such operation is necessary
but we frequently are called upon to do Il
simply to improve mans appearance
Some time ago young man wrote to me
from the West begging me to suggest some
means of making his legs straight He
could walk well enough, but he wasn't salts.
fled with his appearance. / told him what
he would have to undergo, and, although he
hesitated at first, he finally consented and
went through it mantully. He is very prond
Of his straight legs now, although he never
tells how he got them. Braces can some
| times be used to straighten the legs of Young
| boys, but when the bone has become reallSy
hardened they are not Of much use."